The Relationship Between Intolerance of Uncertainty and Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy: The Mediating Role of Emotional Creativity

Entrepreneurship is considered to be one of the most important factors affecting the creation of job opportunities and economic growth. Entrepreneurial self-efficacy, which means believing in one's ability to do innovative work and the effectiveness of skills in order to start a business, is one of the most important effective dimensions in entrepreneurial behavior. Considering the importance of this matter, the present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and entrepreneurial self-efficacy with the mediating role of emotional creativity.

The research method was a descriptive correlational type. The statistical population of the research was formed by the students of Mashhad Conservatories in the academic year 2021-2022, of whom 300 people were selected as research sample using the convenience sampling method. In order to collect data, the entrepreneurial self-efficacy questionnaire of De Nobel et al (1999) Indecision Intolerance Scale, Freeston et al (1994), and Averill and Thomas Knowles’s (1991) emotional creativity questionnaire were used.

The data analysis results showed a negative and significant relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and entrepreneurial self-efficacy, a negative and significant relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and emotional creativity, and a positive and significant relationship between emotional creativity and entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Also, emotional creativity was able to significantly mediate the relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and entrepreneurial self-efficacy. In fact, intolerance of uncertainty does not have a direct effect on entrepreneurial self-efficacy and only has an indirect effect on it.

In fact, the findings indicated that uncertainty intolerance does not have a direct effect on entrepreneurial self-efficacy and only has an indirect effect on it; in such a way that intolerance of uncertainty leads to an increase in entrepreneurial self-efficacy by affecting emotional creativity. In other words, people with higher emotional creativity have more self-efficacy beliefs, and this makes a person react more effectively to the challenges that may be faced especially in the early stages of business development.